Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is on a three day official state visit to India, during which time he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan tomorrow. He is also expected to call on President Pranab Mukherjee.
One of the issues on the agenda will be the ongoing conflict between Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen with regards to fishing in each others’ waters.
PM Wickremesinghe’s visit is significant in light of the fact that Sri Lanka pulled out of the SAARC summit, that was due to be held in Islamabad in November. Bhutan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan also pulled out in the aftermath of the Uri attack, on grounds that the regional environment was ‘not conducive’ for a successful meet.
PM Wickremesinghe will also attend the opening plenary of the India Economic Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, October 6.